Carolina Silverbell Tree

stock photo

Most years for our anniversary, I get us a plant. Usually a nicer shrub or tree that Libby has been wanting. Most years I know what I am looking for because I can recall something specific Libby has talked about. This year I hadn't a clue. With Calvin tagging along I went to the little nursery here in Black Mountain. After some hemming and hawing, and making the staff hang around after the announced closing time, I picked up a witchazel, a beautyberry, and a Carolina silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera {Halesia carolina}). There 's not much to the silverbell (nor any of them for that matter), but I was told it was indigenous to our area.

 what we saw while walking

As luck would have it, Libby spotted one beside the trail as we hiked in Ridgecrest yesterday. It was gratifying for us both, that these do exist in the wild, and that ours has potential.

 our specimen

Catawba Falls

On a whim we set off to Catawba Falls this morning. Nobody (!) had anything pressing to do, and the weather was great (sunny and 50o). We had been a couple of years ago, but I don't think we made it to the very top. At least I don't remember getting there; Libby is pretty certain we did.  No matter: we did today. The parking area has definitely been improved since we were there last: nicely gravelled and good signage.  We set off.

We stayed on the south bank until we got to the old mill (easy as pie). There is a tree log with a handrail that serves as a bridge. From there it was still pretty easy. Even Calvin had no trouble. We got to the spot where I remember us bagging it last time, where a stream crosses the trail (excellent for dogs) and meets the river below. Nice fall-like features and fairly closely confined. One can scamper up the creekside and get a taste of what's coming later on the trail. Today we kept going though.

The summit was very nice. We passed by the old dam and everyone had a blast crawling over all the rocks and trees. We didn't linger too long at the top, as it was lunch time, and we still had our descent to make. We stopped again at the stream-crossing, this time to explore the big rocks below the trail. The boys found a "cave" that was a big hit.

We decided to forego fastfood and go for lunch at an eatery (The Rail Restaurant) in Old Fort. Libby had eaten there last summer and said it would suit just fine. Meh. They got her order wrong, messed up Briggs' burger and left my sandwich under the salamander too long. And it took a little too long given we were the only folks there.

After lunch we cruised Old Fort and drifted toward the Davidson Fort. Everyone but me got out to explore. They got a very earnest lecture from a guy working on the roof of the place. He imparted, Libby is sure, everything he knows about the site. But all in all everyone enjoyed it.

Calvin's birthday

Calvin turned five last week. Talk around here was, "now you're a whole hand," meaning he wasn't just 2- or 3- or 4-fingers on one hand, he was all five fingers. The boys didn't grasp the full meaning when I said that meant he "was a handful."

We had cake and ice cream on the evening of his birthday. I let my rehearsal go early so I could get home and see the fun. By the time I got here, the presents were all opened. I asked Calvin if I could have a cupcake. He said, "No."

In keeping with tradition his birthday spread over a few days. So a couple of days later on last Friday we went to see a monster truck show as part of his birthday celebration. Eli had gone to a show in Richmond in the downtown coliseum. Briggs had never been before; neither had Calvin. I was prepared to this event to be not as cool as the one in Richmond. The arena just wasn't large enough for a full-scale show. The trucks could go about 50 feet before they had to slam on brakes to keep from running into anything. They raced mini-monster trucks (oh, the irony)  and ATVs. But the big trucks were too big to do laps in this arena. So it was not all that exciting. Calvin (and the other brothers) were ready to go by intermission.

Granny came over on Sunday evening with her presents for Calvin (and Libby), thus extending the celebration even more.

Iced in

The threat of icy weather was enough to cancel school for today for everyone, and enough to put Manna on a two-hour delay. By mid-morning there was actually stuff falling from the sky, so Manna closed. That left all of us at home. Everything is supposed to melt tomorrow. The older boys spent the day on the computer and TV. 

Calvin, for the past few weeks, has been keen on picture puzzles. He's got a couple that he puts together every evening when he gets home from school. Today we pulled out some that we had been holding in reserve for just such an occasion. The living room floor became puzzle central. Too, Libby had given me a puzzle of scenes from the Parkway for Christmas. She pulled that out and started on it and I joined in. We let Calvin put the last half-dozen pieces in. He takes puzzling pretty seriously: he was not sure he wanted me to take a picture of him and the puzzles. Apparently they are not the frivolous sort of thing that one takes pictures of, to his way of thinking. Anyway, I got a couple of pics. It was a nice day, capped off by a walk around the block to visit Miss Julia and to the bodega for a piece of candy. And, tomorrow is still only Saturday!

Winter ball

Briggs is doing basketball this season, as is Calvin. The SmartStart  program for little children that the Parks and Rec department does is pretty good. For kids Calvin's age, it's mostly drills and skills, with lots of time for just running up and down the court. I took Calvin today, and it just happened to be the day the children got shirts and balls. Calvin even managed to sink a goal (8-feet high) with his new ball!

9yo

Briggs turned 9 last week. In typical fashion, his birthday celebration spanned 3 days and more. Saturday he took a friend to Fun Depot for the afternoon, then over to Cheshire later to swim. Sunday Libby took him shopping for shoes, socks, shorts and a shirt. All Duke-blue. Monday was his cakeday. Libby made him a cake and let him help decorate. I managed to help scarf some down before heading to a meeting. It was unseasonably warm last weekend, and rainy. Monday, the boys had a day off from school because it was the end of the term at the high school. So they were stuck at home all day, but couldn't go outside. Not sure if any of that really explains the whole no-shirt thing in this picture, but anyway...Presents from Greg and Granny arrived on Wednesday, which stretched the festivities even further. Nice new Nike shoes from Greg and an assortment of attire, and the move The Sandlot from Granny. All good stuff.

North end: BRP

When we went to Graveyard Fields a couple of weeks ago, Libby pointed out that there was a section of the Parkway on which we had never traveled: the northern-most section, from the NC-VA border to Blowing Rock. Not only that, but in all our years in Richmond, we had never traveled the southern-most section of the Parkway in VA either. We decided to set that as a goal for sometime in the near future. On Thanksgiving Day, the opportunity presented itself. Since our guests were not coming until Friday, and because we didn't want to do two big meals, we decided to spend the day traveling.

We went to Statesville, and then north on I-77 through Elkin into Virginia. We got on the Parkway there, and went north about 20 miles to Mabray's Mill. It was deserted, it being a holiday and all, but what we missed in terms of closed buildings was made up for in terms of having the place to ourselves. One of the boys (Calvin) even managed to get wet!

Back in the car, south on the Parkway back into NC. We were able to lay claim to visiting a couple of NC's one hundred counties we had never before been through. There were some nice overlooks on the Parkway, and the day being remarkably clear, we could see all the way east to Hanging Rock and other sites. The music center was closed, but we made the most of Doughton Park. By that point we had enjoyed our fill. We got off the Parkway at NC-18 and traveled through North Wilkesboro, Wilkesboro and Lenoir, before finally wending our way around Morganton and home. Not a bad way to spend the day, and far superior to lying about watching TV and playing computer games.

Sadly, we didn't quite "finish up" our traverse of the Parkway. There remain about 40 miles between NC-18 and Blowing Rock that we have not seen before. Maybe at Christmas-time...